Govt watching crude prices, will manage: Pranab

Concerned over a spike in crude oil prices in international markets due to turmoil in  West Asia, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday the government is monitoring the situation and will manage it.

"Unfortunately, because of developments in West Asia and its impact on the Arab world. . . (it) is causing uncertainty about production, about availability. We are watching the situation," Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi.

He said the Finance Ministry is in constant touch with its counterparts in the Petroleum Ministry on the unfolding situation.

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He pointed out that India had managed the situation even when crude prices touched a record $147 per barrel in July, 2008.

". . . At that time also, we had to manage the situation. Government will take care of it (now)," Mukherjee said.

The finance minister's comments come in the wake of massive protests in Egypt by demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

Similar protests have also erupted against the authoritarian regimes of other Arab nations like Yemen and Jordan.

Last month, Tunisian dictator Zine al-Abedine ben Ali was deposed in an uprising that left 200 people dead.

The severe winter conditions in Europe and US had already pushed crude oil prices to a two-year high of over $90 per barrel in January, 2011.

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Crude oil prices continued to rise in Asian trade today, with Brent crude within a whisker of breaching the $102 per barrel mark as the unrest in Egypt and other parts of West Asia continued to weigh on the investor mood, analysts said.

West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for March delivery, gained 2 cents to $90.79 per barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for March delivery advanced by 25 cents to $101.99 per barrel, in Asian trade on Wednesday.

In addition, the turmoil in Egypt pushed up the price of Brent crude price to an intra-day high of $102.08 per barrel on Tuesday, its highest level since late-September, 2008.